


My Kingdom for Your Kiss!

by wishIwasbetter



Category: ITZY (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Choi Jisu | Lia is Whipped, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Fairy Tale Style, Hwang Yeji is Whipped, Knight Yeji, Love at First Sight, Mentions of Sexism, Mentions of homophobia, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Princess Jisu, Romantic Fluff, Tags Are Hard, i'm so happy this is my first time writing f/f and im so gay idk what took me so long, my babies are just chaotic lesbians let them be, the other girls are maids, they are chaotic as well
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 18:23:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20394142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wishIwasbetter/pseuds/wishIwasbetter
Summary: Princess Jisu as completed 19 years of life. This means she shall be assigned a knight, a protector who will watch over her and cherish for her safety above anything else. An old tradition she was tired of hearing about and less than excited to be part of.This is, until a mysterious knight enters the tournament to compete for that position.--Hwang Yeji has been looking for a chance to prove her father wrong all her life. She knew she had everything she needed to be one of the greatests knights of the entire kingdom, but her father never seemed interested in listening to her. When the tournament to choose the princess' life protector is announced, she knows that is her best chance.And, when she finally meets the princess, she understands there is more to fiht for other than to spite her father.





	My Kingdom for Your Kiss!

The tournament of the protector. A great event - the greatest in an knight's life, if he gets to experience so - meant to select the one protector of the princess, her personal knight, responsible for her safety for the rest of her life. Princess Jisu, recently turned 19, was at the age to be assigned her protector, and knights from all around the kingdom had been arriving the walls of the citadel, looking forward to the chance of obtaining such honor.

Ryujin, Chaeryoung and Yuna had been busy all morning getting Jisu ready for the tournament. It was her first time showing herself to the public since she was 10 years old and that added to all the new faces and the foods and music blasting right outside the castle was exhilarating for the maids. The three giggled and chatted as they dressed Jisu and combed her long hair. Though, to the princess’ dismay, her silence did not go unnoticed by the maids.

"Good God, Jisu, if it was to judge by your expression people would say you are to attend a funeral!" Ryujin ended up saying, not being able to hold herself as she colored Lia's eyes with imported eyeshadow. 

"I can't seem to get as excited as you..." Jisu sighted, looking at the window. 

"Why is that? It's the most exciting event of all our lives! God knows when there will be another tournament like this!" Yuna said. She was kneeled next to Jisu, adjusting her skirt and fitting her heels on her. 

Jisu couldn't say she hated every single thing about that tournament. She hated how she felt like a prize to be won rather than a human being ever since the tournament was announced. She hated how there were men competing that were the age to be her father. She hated how many of those men probably didn't even care about her as much as they cared about the prestige of being her protector. 

She just hated everything about it, so she couldn't see any joy in the tournament, not even with the pretty, younger knights that were competing, not even with the food and music and games happening along.

Since she couldn’t say, Jisu merely shrugged.

"I just can't find any excitement in me." 

The maids frowned but said no more, resuming to giggle and exchange looks among each other. Watching them enjoy it all so much, Jisu was more certain that she should let her friends have fun and keep her humour to herself. 

"We're done! Want to see yourself a little?" Chaeryoung said, smiling at the princess. 

"Sure, why not." 

The maids did deflate a little, though young Chaeryoung guided the princess to the big mirror in the room looking hopeful.

And sure, looking at her own reflection, Jisu finally had the energy to smile. 

Her dress was a vibrant shade of indigo blue that fell around her like a cascade. It hung to her chest and arms, leaving her shoulders and cleavage naked, as her neck was adorned with a necklace full of indigo stones. Her sleeves hugged her arms gently, going all the way down to cover the back of her hands. The entire dress was embroidered with flowers the same color of the dress, so they only gave an idea of texture to it, and their buds were small diamonds that sparkled as Jisu moved around. The top of her hair had been braided back with indigo velvet strips of fabric while the rest of it hung free, waving naturally to her waist. To top it off, her tiara garnished her face, it’s usual golden glow making her shine like a star. 

"I am perfect. Thank you so much, loves" she thanked, reached to squeeze the maids' hands.

The maids smiled to her and showered her with compliments. Jisu took that time, being surrounded by the most supportive group of friends she had, to adjust her posture and count her breaths.

She was ready. 

The veil covering her face and shoulders made it harder to watch the tournament but it was traditional for the princess only to reveal her face for the finalists - something about giving them more incentive to win or something. All that Jisu knew was that she was bored and happy she didn't have to smile when a knight sent flying kisses to her when he won a battle. Ryujin, by her side, squealed and giggled whenever that happened, mostly when it was a cute knight bowing lowly in their direction. 

A knight entered the arena and the king, sitting by Jisu’s side, leaned forward in his seat.

“Isn’t that the Hwang family coat of arms?” king Dongwook whispered. He was talking to his adviser, Sir Im WoongJae, but Jisu was able to hear. This picked her attention finally, making her sit at the edge of the chair for the first time.

Certainly, the distinct coat of arms of the Hwang family - two black bears parading a shield with a salmon painted over it - walked into the arena, worn by a small knight. His armor sat awkwardly over his body, as if it was a size too big, but he walked confident to his battle nonetheless.

“I didn’t even know the Hwang family had a son!” WoongJae whispered back to Jisu’s father. 

The knight was surely smaller than his adversary, the huge and known Sir Daniel of the house Kang. Jisu heard Ryujin squeal for the fifth time when Sir Daniel winked in the direction of the princess. 

“He is simply too handsome!” Ryujin whispered to Jisu as the knight put on his helmet and swung his axe at his Hwang opponent. “I almost hope that he wins! Can you imagine having him around?”

“I imagine you have very particular reasons to want him around, don’t you?” Jisu laughed, making Ryujin blush and bite her lip. 

The king rose to his feet and and raised his hand. 

“May the battle… begin” and let his hand fall, starting the battle. 

It was like the Hwang knight had fire on his heels. Jisu probably never saw a battle in a tournament end so quickly. 

In a minute, Sir Daniel was swinging his axe at the Hwang knight and charging at him, the other, he was on the ground and his opponent helt his sword to his neck. Daniel’s helmet had also flown off, so it was possible to see his stunned, surprised face as he looked up to the other knight completely defenseless. 

A moment of silence fell over the audience. Then, a roaring celebration, all screaming ‘Hwang!’ as if he had killed a lion - well, he almost did. 

“The winner of this round is- the Hwang knight!” The announcer declared, looking at the piece of paper where the names of the knights were registered. 

Jisu stood up, holding the fence that separated the royal family to the arena, and waited patiently for the brave warrior to take off his helmet. 

The Hwang stuck his sword to the ground and lifted his visor. Jisu deflated a little, as she expected he’d reveal his face as tradition had it. but still she was glad to see his eyes. The veil blurred her view, but the eyes underneath the helmet seemed to look directly at her, like she was the only thing he saw. 

And the moment was gone. He lowered his visor, took his sword and charged back to the tents and two other knights walked in the arena. 

“He seemed very young! Maybe not fully educated in etiquette of tournaments” the advisor pondred. 

“But skilled! Did you see how fast he knocked Sir Daniel down? Sir Daniel is a skilled knight, trained since he was born. The Hwang boy must be very disciplined.”

King Dongwook stood up again to announce the beginning of another battle. Jisu paid no mind, as she did for the rest of the day, choosing to recall the images of the Hwang knight to pass her time. 

It was the third and final day of the tournament, reserved solely to the final battle. Jisu had risen early, being found awake by her maids when they entered her room. 

“What is the matter, princess? Too excited to meet your knight?” Yuna asked, already focused on filling the princess’ tub with lukewarm water. 

“Maybe she is nervous to reveal herself, Yuna” Chaeryoung whined, helping the younger maid with her task. 

“You know what” Ryujin said, helping Jisu out of her nightgown, “I think she is nervous about the Hwang knight.” 

“Is it true, Jisu?” The younger maids asked, looking up at the princess.

“It is!” Ryujin answered before Jisu could even open her mouth. “You two  _ had  _ to see her when he battled. Whenever he got attacked, she held her breath and covered her mouth like this.” And the maid proceeded to imitate a very exaggerated version of Jisu, widening her eyes and frowning her eyebrows as she made her mouth in a perfect ‘o’. 

“Okay, you stop!” Jisu said, slapping her maid on the arm. “I did  _ not  _ make that face!”

“You  _ did! _ ” Ryujin countered, not even minding that she was slapped. “And everytime he won, you sat by the edge of your chair and sighed in relief as if  _ you _ were the one in battle.”

“ _ Oh my God, Jisu, are you in love? _ ” Yuna screamed. She even stopped filling the tub just to hug Jisu and shake her shoulders. 

“ _ Why didn’t you tell us when you knew we’d get this happy for you? _ ” Chaeryoung screamed, hitting Jisu’s shoulder blades and skipping by her side. Ryujin quickly joined and the two started jumping together. If one was to guess, they’d say it was one of the girls’ birthday or that they all had gotten engaged to a honorable men. Jisu let herself laugh and jump with the girls, because she couldn’t deny that,  _ yes _ , the knight moved her heart in a way, even if it was not the way the girls imagined. 

“Sorry I didn’t tell you, but I wanted to avoid a situation like this” Jisu explained when the agitation died down a little. 

Yuna tilted her head like a puppy. 

“Why?”

“Because he may not win, you know? Then we’ll all have gotten excited over nothing” Jisu said, entering her tub. 

“You are always too gloomy, unnie” Chaeryoung said, holding the princess’ hand so she doesn’t fall. 

Jisu smiled sadly at the girl. 

“I know I’m gloomy. It’s just that…” she bit her lip for a second and looked at the girl. “I don’t want to give into my illusions only to have my heart broken later.”

“So if that knight lose you’ll be  _ heartbroken? _ ” Yuna screamed, hugging her and shaking her all over again. 

If Jisu was completely honest, she liked that feeling a lot. And, if she let herself go a little bit, she already imagined the Hwang knight by her side, even if she didn’t even know his face. 

Jisu waited her father end his speech behind the curtains of their tent. As soon as her name was called, she would step out and face the two knights currently quarreling to become her one and only guardian. More than that, it would be the first time anyone outside of the castle seeing her face since she was a little girl. The anxiety and anticipation made her hands shake violently and Ryujin had to stop her every time she started biting her nails. She just wished her presence was not made such a big deal out of, because it only made her more and more aware of her appearance. 

“...and, of course, the reason for this entire event. I present you my beautiful, most beloved daughter: princess Choi Jisu.” 

And, just like that, the moment came. Jisu took one second to calm her breathing and set her posture right. Her chin was help up and proudly, and she trained the polite smile on her face before moving to exit the tent to her spot by the arena. As Ryujin held the curtains open, she stepped forward, eyes trained on the audience. 

The cheer became louder when the sun finally touched her skin and reflected on the jewelry on her dress. She was glad her hair had been tied entirely, because the hot summer day paired with her nervousness would have made her a sweaty mess. As usual, her maids knew exactly what they were doing. 

After waving politely to the people watching, her eyes fell to the two knights kneeling down before her - well, one knight specifically. 

The Hwang knight had his helmet on to her dismay, but, to her delight, he raised his head after a minute and the two of them locked eyes. For sure, he looked young - just how young, Jisu couldn’t be sure - for his skin looked healthier than most knights did and his eyelashes were longer than an adult’s. The intensity he looked at her warmed her bones like the sun could never do. 

“Gentlemen, on your feet, please” the king ordered. The Hwang knight stood up, but his eyes never left Jisu’s, so her eyes never left his either. 

“May you two prepare” The king continued. 

The Hwang lowered his visor, finally breaking their eye contact. Jisu, out of his spell, sat down and noticed Ryujin was giggling by her side. She delicately kicked her shins, making her hiss in pain. 

“Are you ready, gentlemen?” the king asked, elevating his hand. Both knights answered by swinging their weapons - Hwang, a sword, the other, a flail - and stomping their heels on the ground. “Therefore, I declare this battle… started.”

The knight holding the flail attacked first, charging to Hwang and hitting his ribs before he could even react. The sound of the impact of the flail with the armor echoed through the arena and made Jisu’s heart stop as the Hwang stumbled and fought to regain balance. 

The other knight used this moment to try another attack, but the Hwang was ready this time: he dodged the attack, moving to be at the other’s back, and hit his helmet with handle of his sword. 

The knight’s helmet even dented, so heavy it was the strike. He stumbled forward and put some distance between them, probably to catch his breath. The Hwang didn’t seem interested in charging at the other, staying behind and holding his ribs over his armor. Jisu thought, desperately, that he might have broken a rib, and that could be a huge disadvantage to her knight. 

_ Her knight _ . Oh God, she was almost sounding like the girls. 

The knights faced each other for some time, but soon were charging for each other, both holding their weapons high. 

After exchanging jabs and blows, Jisu’s heart couldn’t take it anymore. Both knights were tired, but the Hwang seemed to be having the worst of it, as he stumbled over his own feet and had difficulty standing up. He was mainly dodging the attacks, but everyone knew this wouldn’t work for too much longer. 

“A very brave young man indeed” king Dongwook commented at her side. “A pity he came so far to be defeated like that.” 

“He didn’t lose yet, father” Jisu hissed, her eyes not leaving the arena as the Hwang dodged another attack. 

“You can’t expect him to win in that state, right? He can’t even walk, my daughter.”

Jisu held her breath and blinked slowly. Her hands grasped the fence as if it could save her life. 

“I’m just saying he surprised us all up to this point. Who knows what he is still capable of doing.”

King Dongwook shrugged and turned his attention to the arena. 

“Fair enough. We shall wait for the end to judge.”

And it did take a few more minutes but, sure, the other knight seemed to finally be giving out to fatigue. His blows were weaker, less precise than in the beginning. Though the Hwang was not any better, the battle seemed balanced once again.

As the other knight attempted an attack to Hwang’s bad ribs, his flail went to the wrong direction and the Hwang intercepted it with his sword. He ripped it out of the other knights grip and threw it to the other side, sending his own sword along. The knight was so shocked he didn’t notice the Hwang’s elbow flying to his face and got knocked out with a loud ‘bang’. The knight fell like a potato sack, and the audience went wild. 

Both the princess and the king stood up, clapping the victorious knight with the people watching. The knight simply waved a little and fell to his knee, holding his head low to salute his now protectee, the princess. Jisu clapped and cheered loudly, not caring that it made clear her preference for the young knight. He won and it was all that mattered. She felt like her heart could explode in her chest.

The king held his hands high and slowly all the cheering died down. His eyes fell over the knight, still kneeling before them. 

“Congratulations, brave knight. You won this tournament and the honor of being my daughter’s guardian. Rise - and tell us what is the name of our newest champion.”

The knight stood up and his hands went to his helmet. Jisu held her breath, as it felt like the entire world stopped as she watched the metal slide off his face - and a long cascade of brown hair fall off of it. 

“I am Sir Yeji of the house Hwang, Your Majesty” the knight said. “The first daughter of Hwang Minhyun. At your service.” 

The audience gasped and whispered, and her own father seemed taken aback, but Jisu felt like she was floating on the clouds. 

Yeji had lowered her head again, so her hair partially covered her beautiful face, though enough was exposed so Jisu could still see the girl’s roundy nose and soft cheeks. The girl’s lips were pushed in a nervous smile, but they still looked soft and pouty and apple-shaped - and the smile made her cheeks even softer. 

If there was no fence and Jisu hadn’t had years and years of etiquette, she might have run to Yeji to push the girl’s hair out of her face and caress her cheeks. Even dirty with sweat and dust and clearly in pain, Yeji was the most gracious being Jisu had ever seen. The princess felt like she was looking at an angel God had sent her to bless her existence. 

“Ah- I’m sorry, this was unexpected” the king said, turning to Sir WoongJae for advice. “Is it allowed to have girls competing? Is she even a knight? Is this possible?”

WoongJae looked lost, so Jisu decided to intervene, speaking loudly to the entire arena to hear. 

* * *

When Yeji arrived the tournament, most of the pairs had already been made and she barely made it into the list. Damn horse she had, but was the best one she managed to get as she fled last minute from her house. Her father would not be happy - and that’s why she was there to win, no matter what. 

Her first opponent was Sir Daniel of the house Kang. If Yeji said she didn’t feel intimidated, she was lying. Daniel was well-known for his battling skills and his buff built. His weapon of choice was an axe - huge, heavy and deadly - making it obvious he was an aggressive opponent. Probably he would have crushed her in the battle - if she didn’t overhear his conversation with his friends as he got ready. 

“Yeah, I heard the stories” he said, giggling and holding his arms out to his assistants as they put on his armour. “I heard she is the most beautiful woman in the entire kingdom. I don’t know how gorgeous a woman can be, but I do know my first mission after winning will be discovering how beautiful she is under that dress, if you know what I mean” he laughed and his friends laughed along, as if that poor excuse of a grouping of words could count as a joke. 

“Tell us if she is the lioness type or if she gives out like a bitch” one of the friends said, hitting his chest. Daniel only laughed. 

“It’s unfair for me to be the judge to that - all women give in like bitches to me.”

And, as he continued to be unpleasant with his peers, Yeji felt her blood boiling with pure rage. 

When the king announced the beginning of the battle, Yeji didn’t wait to Daniel’s first motion. Charged with anger and desire to run his face through the floor, the girl ran to Daniel and knocked his axe out of his hands in a swing and his chin as her hand came back. The momentum of running added to the weight of her sword and the strength of her strike was enough to send him flying back, eventually ending on his back. She put her blade to his neck, surrendering him. The blood rushing through her ears was so loud she barely heard the cheers of the crowd around her. 

When she came to her senses, she stuck her sword into the ground with one strong movement. She knew that, traditionally, the knight was to take off his helmet and bow to the princess “bare” - but she couldn’t do it, not yet. Revealing so soon she was a woman would change completely how the other knights behaved during her battles, if she even was capable of continuing in the tournament afterwards.

No, she couldn’t take off her helmet. But she could show her eyes, and that’s what she did. 

The princess, on the other side of the fence, had a silver veil over her head that made it only partial to see her. Still, Yeji could tell she was very pretty, the pretty she didn’t know if she wanted to be or if she wanted to  _ have _ . And she could feel the princess’ eyes on her. 

Soon, she lowered her visor, as she had to prepare for the next battle she would win. 

It was as if the third day of tournament never arrived as well as if it had come around too fast. Yeji barely stayed in her room in the hostel, choosing to stay and practice almost all night to the battles of the next day. Other knights snarled at her as they passed by, others directed impressed looks while watching her training. No matter, she continued on, and she made into the final nonetheless. 

She entered the arena with her helmet already on. It was a sunny day and her armor was hot, but that would  _ for sure  _ not be the reason she loses. Nothing would be at that point. 

The king started his speech and she politely listened, standing a step away from her opponent. When the king announced the princess, she fell to her knees, along with the other man, and held her head low in respect. The crowd started to cheer louder and Yeji’s chest filled with butterflies, as curious as everyone else to know how the princess looked like. When she couldn’t stop her curiosity any longer, she raised her head - and nothing could have prepared her to the sight she was met with. 

Princess Jisu wore red, meant to symbolize victory and health. That color alone was enough to make her look like a painting, too beautiful to be true. Delicate gemstones shaped like petals had been embroidered to her dress to make it look like roses - the symbol of her family - were blooming over her chest and shoulders and some had been embroided to her corset to make it look like their petals were falling to her waist. Her sleeves went only down to her elbows, exposing her forearms and hands to the sun. She wore few rings on her fingers, but a thin golden chain connected them to her bracelet on one hand. Her neck had been adorned with a simple lace the color of her dress. Her ears had multiple earrings that sparkled on the sun, some golden and some matching the gemstones on her dress, and her hair had been braided with pure gold. 

When she looked at Yeji, the knight felt like the ground underneath her had been pulled off and she was looking at the very gates of Heaven. Her heart was beating so fast she didn’t listen to anything else, as her heart and head were Jisu’s only.

When Yeji had to lower her visor, she felt like she could charge with her all into that battle - and she was going to win.

“Are you ready, gentlemen?” the king asked, and Yeji knew she never had been this ready in her life. 

Images of her father denying her proper training to be a knight, of late-night study sessions she had to sneak out to get with the family’s instructor, and of course of the princess in her red dress were the only things in her mind. She was going to win - no matter what.

Yeji announced her name and bowed to the king and the princess. Her head was spinning due to the heat, the adrenaline and her ribs burning her side. Still, she could hear people talking, some even brave enough to shout  _ ‘get out!’  _ at her. She would not back down. She won, fairly and just. This was her victory. 

“Ah- I’m sorry, this was unexpected” she heard the king say. She knew he was discussing her position, so she opened her mouth to defend herself. 

She never got to, because the princess’ voice rose before, surprising Yeji and everyone watching. 

“Sir Yeji of Hwang fought bravely and won every single knight that was opposed to her. As far as I know, this means she was the best knight in the whole tournament, isn’t it right?”

Yeji heard the king gag and stutter, as well as the advisor mumble something. She didn’t care, as the princess stood up and had a determined frown on her face. 

“Since Yeji proved herself, she shall be granted the title of Knight of the King, as well as the honor to become my guardian. It’s only fair, since she won justly, never using her gender to take advantage of the situation. Will you live with the fact that the best knight of the tournament was disqualified just because she happened to be a woman? Will the protector of my life be the second best knight of this tournament?” 

The king and his advisor stayed silent, but the crowd seemed to slowly agree with the princess. Some still shouted  _ ‘but it’s a girl!’ _ , but most were coming around to defend Yeji. 

“Well, if that is the case” the king said, and he ordered a maid to open the fence to walk up to Yeji. 

She instantly fell to her knees and looked down. The shadow of the king covered her entirely. She waited until she heard two taps of metal against the armor on her shoulders. 

“By the powers of me compelled as King of the Land, I declare you, Yeji of Hwang, Knight of the Crown. Rise, Sir Yeji, and assume your post as my daughter’s life guardian.”

Yeji stood up, bowing deeply to the king before turning her attention to the princess. The girl was smiling and her eyes were squished by her cheeks. She looked radiant like the sun. 

As Yeji bowed to her protectee, she knew she’d do everything in her power to keep that glow on Her Highness’ features. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always apprecianted <3   
love you~  
twitter: @yohaniiie


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